DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least one Palestinian was killed and 48 others wounded when a crowd was fired upon while overrunning a new aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip set up by an Israeli and U.S.-backed foundation, Gaza’s Health Ministry said today.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile said Israel killed senior Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, apparently confirming his death in a recent airstrike in Gaza. Speaking before parliament, Netanyahu included Sinwar in a list of Hamas leaders killed in Israeli strikes. Mohammed is the brother of Yahya Sinwar, one of the masterminds of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, who was killed by Israeli forces last year.
Crowds of Palestinians on Tuesday broke through fences around the distribution site where thousands had massed. An Associated Press journalist heard Israeli tank and gun fire, and saw a military helicopter firing flares.
It was not yet known whether the death and injuries were caused by Israeli forces, private contractors or others. The foundation said its military contractors had not fired on the crowd but “fell back” before resuming aid operations. Israel said its troops nearby had fired warning shots.
In a separate development, Israel carried out airstrikes today on the international airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, destroying the last plane belonging to the country’s flagship carrier. The strikes came after Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired several missiles at Israel in recent days, without causing casualties.
The Israeli military said it destroyed aircraft used by the rebels. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded in the strikes.
CHAOS AT A NEW AID HUB
The distribution hub outside Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah was opened the day before by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been slated by Israel to take over aid operations.
The U.N. and other humanitarian organizations have rejected the new system, saying it won’t be able to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food to control the population. They have also warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and people seeking supplies.
Palestinians have become desperate for food after nearly three months of Israeli border closures pushed Gaza to the brink of famine.
“What we saw yesterday is a very clear example of the dangers of distributing food under (these) circumstances,” Ajith Sunghay, head of the U.N. Human Rights Office for the Palestinian territories, told reporters in Geneva. He said the new system is “exposing people to death and injury when they have faced 19 months of this brutal war.”
Israel says it helped establish the new aid mechanism to prevent Hamas from siphoning off supplies, but it has provided no evidence of systematic diversion and U.N. agencies say they have mechanisms in place to prevent it while delivering aid to all parts of the territory.
GHF says it has established four hubs, two of which have begun operating in the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah. It said that around eight truckloads of aid were distributed at the hubs today without incident. About 600 trucks entered Gaza every day during a ceasefire earlier this year.
The GHF sites are guarded by private security contractors and have chain-link fences channeling Palestinians into a what resemble military bases surrounded by large sand berms. Israeli forces are stationed nearby in a military zone separating Rafah from the rest of the territory.
The U.N. and other aid groups have refused to participate in GHF’s system, saying it violates humanitarian principles. They say it can be used by Israel to forcibly displace the population by requiring them to move near the few distribution hubs or else face starvation, a violation of international law.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that “there was some loss of control momentarily” at the distribution point, adding that “happily, we brought it under control.”
He repeated that Israel plans to move Gaza’s entire population to a “sterile zone” at the southern end of the territory while troops fight Hamas elsewhere. Netanyahu has also vowed to facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of Gaza’s population to other countries, a plan for what Palestinians and others view as forcible expulsion.
ISRAEL SAYS IT DESTROYED THE HOUTHIS’ LAST PLANE
The Israeli strikes on the main airport in Yemen destroyed the last plane belonging to the country’s flagship carrier Yemenia, according to the airport.
Yemenia had a total of four aircraft registered, according to the plane tracking website FlightRadar24. Israel destroyed three of the planes in a May 6 airstrike on the airport, which also riddled the runway with craters.
Footage released by the airport today showed a smoking Yemenia plane shorn in half with debris cluttering the runway. Yemenia said the plane was scheduled to fly Muslim pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. It did not say if anyone was wounded.
The carrier also announced the temporary suspension of flights to and from the airport.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes today destroyed the last plane used by the Houthis.
The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in Gaza in solidarity with Palestinians, raising their profile at home and internationally as the last member of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” capable of launching regular attacks on Israel.
The Houthi missiles have mostly been intercepted, although some have penetrated Israel’s missile defense systems, causing casualties and damage. Israel has frequently struck back against the rebels in Yemen, especially around the vital Hodeida port.
Netanyahu said that Israel would continue to strike as long as the Houthis continued launching missiles towards Israel. “Whoever doesn’t understand it by force — will understand it by more force,” he said.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas still holds 58 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive. Most of the rest were released in ceasefire deals or other agreements. Israeli forces have rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It says women and children make up most of the dead but does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.
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An earlier version of this story was corrected to remove a reference to Israeli forces firing on the crowd. It’s unclear if it was Israeli forces, private contractors or others who opened fire.
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Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Jamey Keaten contributed to this report from Geneva.
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